Bob Sands

A mother giving up custody of her kids was really unusual in the early 1970s, and it's something that after Karen's death would be used against her to try and paint her as a bad mother and a bad person. Rosemary and Linda say Karen absolutely loved her children.

A mother giving up custody of her kids was really unusual in the early 1970s, and it's something that after Karen's death would be used against her to try and paint her as a bad mother and a bad person. Rosemary and Linda say Karen absolutely loved her children.

It's... Take your time.

It's... Take your time.

A hole he's trying to fill by learning all he can about the woman who never got to raise him, about her life and her death.

A hole he's trying to fill by learning all he can about the woman who never got to raise him, about her life and her death.

That's precisely what we've been trying to figure out.

That's precisely what we've been trying to figure out.

So very 70s of him. These days, Steve's got a head of white hair and a full gray beard. He recently retired from his career as an attorney advocating for people with work-related cancer. He's now spending his retirement in a small New Jersey beach town, trying to figure out what happened to Karen Silkwood 50 years ago.

So very 70s of him. These days, Steve's got a head of white hair and a full gray beard. He recently retired from his career as an attorney advocating for people with work-related cancer. He's now spending his retirement in a small New Jersey beach town, trying to figure out what happened to Karen Silkwood 50 years ago.

Filing freedom of information requests with federal agencies, pouring over decades-old legal documents, and files with ink that's faded but still legible. So there's 599 file items here. That's just FBI. Steve also has the only recordings we've been able to find of Karen's voice.

Filing freedom of information requests with federal agencies, pouring over decades-old legal documents, and files with ink that's faded but still legible. So there's 599 file items here. That's just FBI. Steve also has the only recordings we've been able to find of Karen's voice.

At the time of this call, Karen was still learning about the effects of repeated exposure to radioactive materials.

At the time of this call, Karen was still learning about the effects of repeated exposure to radioactive materials.

She was concerned that she and her co-workers didn't get enough information or training at the plant, especially about how plutonium could accumulate in the body over time. You'll hear a lot more from these tapes in the next episode.

She was concerned that she and her co-workers didn't get enough information or training at the plant, especially about how plutonium could accumulate in the body over time. You'll hear a lot more from these tapes in the next episode.

Though brief, those seven weeks would wind up changing the course of both of their lives. It all started with Karen's concerns about the plant. She claimed things there were sloppy and unsafe at Kerr-McGee's nuclear facility in Crescent, Oklahoma. Plutonium, the stuff she and other assembly line workers were handling, has a half-life of up to 20,000 years.

Though brief, those seven weeks would wind up changing the course of both of their lives. It all started with Karen's concerns about the plant. She claimed things there were sloppy and unsafe at Kerr-McGee's nuclear facility in Crescent, Oklahoma. Plutonium, the stuff she and other assembly line workers were handling, has a half-life of up to 20,000 years.

Getting contaminated with that stuff can have major health consequences.

Getting contaminated with that stuff can have major health consequences.